Carnival Corporation Orders Ships for Costa and...
Carnival Corporation & plc Orders New Ships for Its Costa Cruises and AIDA
Cruises Brands
Orders Include a 132,500-Ton Ship for Costa and Two 125,000-Ton Vessels for
AIDA; Largest Ships Ever Constructed for These Two Brands
MIAMI, Aug. 3, 2011 -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK)
today announced it has reached agreements for the construction of three new
cruise ships -- one 132,500-ton vessel for its Costa Cruises brand and two
125,000-ton ships for its AIDA Cruises brand. The ships will be the largest
ever constructed for these two cruise lines.
A contract has been signed with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the
construction of a 3,700-passenger ship for Costa that is scheduled for
delivery in October 2014. The all-in cost for this vessel will be
approximately euro 150,000 per lower berth.
A memorandum of agreement has been signed with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries to build two 3,250-passenger ships for AIDA which are scheduled
for delivery in March 2015 and March 2016. The all-in cost for these vessels
will be approximately euro 140,000 per lower berth.
The order for the two AIDA ships marks a return by Carnival Corporation & plc
to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries which built two highly successful ships for
Princess Cruises, both of which were delivered in 2004. The contract with
Fincantieri continues the company's longstanding and successful relationship
with the Italian shipbuilder, which dates back nearly 20 years.
The new Costa ship order is subject to financing. The memorandum of agreement
with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is subject to customary closing conditions,
including execution of shipbuilding contracts and financing. Additional
design and itinerary details for the three new vessels will be announced at a
later date by Costa and AIDA.
Today's AIDA order marks Carnival Corporation & plc's first new ship delivery
for 2016 and continues the company's strategy of introducing two to three
ships per year. Including the new orders for Costa and AIDA, Carnival
Corporation & plc currently has 10 ships on order -- three for 2012, two for
2013, two for 2014, two for 2015 and one for 2016.
The delivery of the new Costa ship in fall 2014 is expected to replace
capacity from the sale of certain older Costa ships beginning with the sale
of Costa Marina, which will leave the fleet in November 2011. In the third
quarter of 2011, the company will record a loss on the sale of approximately
$0.02 per share.
Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in the world,
with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and
Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess
Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O
Cruises (UK) and P&O Cruises (Australia).
Together, these brands operate 101 ships totaling approximately 200,000 lower
berths with 10 new ships scheduled to be delivered between May 2012 and March
2016. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess
Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon.
Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation
& plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and
the FTSE 100 indices.
SOURCE Carnival plc
CONTACT: MEDIA: US, Jennifer de la Cruz or Vance Gulliksen, Carnival
Corporation & plc, +1-305-599-2600, ext. 16000; INVESTOR RELATIONS: US/UK,
Beth Roberts, Carnival Corporation & plc, +1-305-406-4832